Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. This is the wildly fun and fast moving plot from the book Starter Villain by John Scalzi which I discuss with this week’s guest, Allie Speakmon!

Allie is a book reviewer and content creator based in the New Braunfels, Texas area. She runs @speakingof.books across Instagram, TikTok, and her website speakingof.org where she reviews mysteries, thrillers, romantasy, and contemporary fiction with honest takes and a full glass of wine. She's a project manager by day, a mom of 3 under 4 including twins, and a self-proclaimed Type C reader who reads by vibes and ignores her TBR pile. She's been in the bookstagram community for 9 years, reads 100+ books a year, and recently founded The Quarterly Bookclub in New Braunfels for busy women who love books but think monthly is too much commitment.

Villain Spritz

Ingredients

• 1½ oz vodka
• ¾ oz elderflower liqueur
• ½ oz honey syrup
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
• 4–5 fresh blackberries, muddled
• Prosecco or club soda, to top
• Mint sprig and fresh blackberries

Directions

1. Add the blackberries to a cocktail shaker and muddle gently.
2. Add the vodka, elderflower liqueur honey syrup, lemon juice, and ice.
3. Shake well until chilled.
4. Fill a rocks glass with fresh ice and strain the cocktail over the ice.
5. Top with a splash of Prosecco.

• 6. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a few fresh blackberries.

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